Improvement in paper-pulp washers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

CHARLES J. BRADBURY, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOP TO I-IIMSELF AND GEORGE W. RUSSELL, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-PULP WASHERS.

Specification forming partolfLstters Patent No. 147,595. dated February 17, 1574; application filed September 17, 1873.

To all whom t'may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES J. BRADBURY, of Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Cylinder-Washers for Paper- Pulp Engines, of which the following is a specification:

These improvements relate to the cylinderwashers,7 so called, of paper-rag engines, which consist of a wirecovered or reticulated cylinder or drum rotated by suitable mechanism, and wallowing in the pulp contained in the engine-tub,77 the purpose of the washer being to withdraw from the pulp and discharge from the tub the foul water resulting from the washing of the rags. My invention is particularly designed to facilitate the discharge of the wa- .ter from the tub. To this end I employ a cylinder having an open end, in combination with a chute, which said open end of the cylinder overhangs,l` so that there may be entirely free and uninterrupted passage of water from the cylinder through the chute and out from the tub. The cylinder, under my invention, is free from allinternal appliances, which would be apt to retard the discharge of the water, and the wh ole construction of the apparatus is sinipliiied and improved.

The nature of my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, which represents, 1n-

Flgure 1, a vertical and longitudinal section, in Fig. 2a transverse section, and in Fig. 3 a plan, of pulp-engine tub provided with my improvements. Fig. 4 is a top view of the chute detached.

In these drawings, A denotes the ordinary oblong tub now in general use in paper-mills for beating and grinding rags to pulp, with the exception of its rotary grindingroll and bed-plate, the mid-board or central wall which divides the tub longitudinally being shown at B. Upon this mid-board and the op posite side of the tub are erected the slotted standards C C, which support the washer and allow it to rise and fall with the amount of pulp in the tub, the journals of the washershaft D revolving within the slots of said standards. In carrying my invention into practice, I discard entirely all the interior contrivanees heretofore in use for intercepting and centraliziug the water entering the cylinder, and employ simply a drum, E, closed at one end, as shown at E, and open at the other, as shown at G, to its full or nearly full capacity, and with its periphery H covered with awire screen, or other reticulated or foraminous covering, to admit water to its interior. The periphery of my cylinder, at its open end, is formed with an annular groove or channel, I, while extending into this groove is a circular ring or rib, J, making part of or attached to the upper part of a thin upright iiat plate or shield, K, the ring or annular bearing J being in halves, and provided with screws, as shown n the drawings, to readily adapt it to the groove I. In adapting my improvement to the tub A, I cut away a certain portion of the mid-board B, and supply its place by a chute or spout, P, composed of two thin side walls, L L', and end posts 'M M', and I create through the bottom N of the tub an opening, O, to coincide in size and position with the lower mouth of the chute or spout P, one of the end posts M being preferably channeled vertically, to inclose the adjacent end of the remaining portion of the midboard, and thus quickly and easily obtain a support for the chute P. The shield or plate K enters the chute P, and is forced closely in contact with the inner face of its inner wall L by means of springs Q, Q, or theirA equivalents, in order to produceawater-tight joint, or practically so. By applying the plate or shield K, as explained, it constitutes a lirm and rigid standard to steady the cylinder, and at the same time allows it to be raised or lowered at pleasure. The groove I, ring J, and shield K, and the close joint between such shield and the chute P, are not intended as a bearing necessarily, in which the cylinder may revolve, but are intended to prevent water which has once entered the cylinder from returning back to the tub A by leaking through the joints between the cylinder and the mid-board; and in practice itlmay be well to pack these joints with rubber or other material, to insure a close joint.

In the operation of my n'fasher, waste or foul water from the rags in the tub enters the cylinder through its reticulated covering, and ilows directly without impediment through its open end into the chute l), and from thence through the opening O in the bottom of the tub into a discharge-pipe, by which it is conducted to any desired place.

With this washer I obtain a free and unobstructed delivery of water from the cylinder, equal, in fact, to all that can enter it, and I eccnomize power in that I have no water to lift, as present washers are compelled to do. No water spills over upon the iloor of the engine-room, but is confined entirely to the tub,

thus avoiding an annoying evil now experienced. I

My improvement may readily be adapted to old washers at triiiing expense, while the cost of new ones, under my system, is compara tively small, as I avoid the complicated and expensive interior appliances now necessary.

It may be found, in some instances, desirable, in the use of this washer, to discharge the wastewater at the outside of the tub in lieu of the center, as herein explained. To effect this I have merely to take out a certain number of the staves of the tub, and apply the chute l) in their place, the cylinder E being reversed end for end, and discharging its water into the chute, precisely as before stated, a hole being eut in the floor of the engine-room to allow cape of water from the chute.

Fig. 5 of the drawings is a section of one side ofthe tub A, showing this outside adaptation of the chute I. The chute I may be curvilinear in its longest plane, in order, when applied to the outside of the tub, that it may adapt itself to any curvature of the latter.

I claim- 1. In a washer for paper-rag engines, the combination of a reticulated cylinder or drum having one end open, as described, with a disv charge-chute, the receiving-mouth of which 1s located directly under the overhanging open end of the cylinder, substantially as and for the purposes shown and set forth.

2. The combination, in a washer for paperrag engines, of a cylinder or drum open at one end, and supported in bearings in which it can rise and fall, a discharge-chute, the receivingmouth of which is below the open end of the cylinder, and a shield placed within the chute and held in close contact with the side thereof nearest the cylinder, and connected with the cylinder, so as to rise and fall with the same, substantially as shown and set forth.

3. The combination of cylinder E, chute I), and mid-board B, vertically through which said chute passes, said parts constructed and operating together in the manner shown and set forth.

4. In combination with the cylinder E and chute I), the shield K, springs Q, and ring J, substantially as and for the purposes shown and set forth.

CHARLES J. BRADBURY.

l'fi'itnesses J. M. Wi-IEATON, J AMES K. HALL. 

